Sly Cooper: The Road to Redemption
by Josh Blake Official
Summary: It has been seven months since Sly disappeared, and all hope seems lost to Bentley. That is, until Inspector Fox picks up a new case. Dimitri is missing, and he's not the only one. One by one, all of Sly's past foes are disappearing. Who is taking the villains? And why?
1. Prologue

Sly Cooper

Prologue.

Bentley.

It had been seven months since the fateful events that took place on the doomed time blimp. The skunk being thrown behind bars was little comfort to Bentley; who, like the others, waited patiently for the return of their friend. Bentley spent hours sorting through data files and research, finding nothing that led to Sly's location.

 _If only I hadn't invented time travel._ Bentley thought as he sorted through a tabloid article titled "Time Anomalies". It seemed promising, but ended up yielding nothing.

In the time between the crash and now, Bentley and Inspector Fox had become close, but not too close. He liked to look at it as trying to solve the same case from different angles. He wasn't doing anything illegal, anymore that is, but he was still on the odds with Interpol. She seemed to turn a blind eye to his involvement with Sly.

Bentley also stayed in close contact with the third member of the gang, Murray. Murray had entered professional wrestling, which kept his strength up. But there was always time for Murray and Bentley to catch up.

The one thing that Bentley tried to push from his mind was thoughts of Penelope, his ex-girlfriend. She had not only stolen his plans for time travel, but also stabbed him in the back. That was something that haunted Bentley and didn't show signs of going away any time soon. He knew he shouldn't think of it, but one questing burned in his mind. He wanted to know why.

Life around the Paris hideout had gotten pretty dull, almost to the point of depressing for the turtle. He would occasionally have a visit from Inspector Fox, but that was a rare occurrence. This was why it was odd when there was a knock at the door of the hideout. Bentley rolled over curiously and checked his computer to see who was at the door. It was the inspector, she looked impatient as usual.

Bentley opened the door wide and waved her in. Unlike herself, something was troubling her. She sat down at the table and looked out the window distracted. Usually, Bentley would catch her glancing at the pictures of Sly on the wall, but that didn't happen.

"I'll go make some tea," Bentley offered.

"That would be nice," Inspector Fox said, absently.

Bentley rolled off to make the tea deep in thought. Inspector Fox never acted this way. She was noticeably _different_ after Sly disappeared, but she didn't let it affect her like that. This was something else.

A few moments later, Bentley returned with two steaming cups and a tea pot on the stove. The inspector took the cup gratefully.

"Something on your mind?" Bentley finally asked, anxious to break the silence.

"A new case has me puzzled," Inspector Fox explained.

"And you want my help?" Bentley asked.

"Possibly," the inspector said testily.

"Can't help if I don't know what is going on," Bentley said.

Inspector Fox pulled a file out of her jacket. She set it down on the table and opened it. The strange part was that the file belonged to a friend of Bentley's, Dimitri Lousteau. He had been a member of the Klaww Gang, then helped the gang out in Holland and many times after. What caught Bentley's eye was his status: missing.

"What happened to Dimitri?" Bentley asked.

"That's what we are trying to figure out," Inspector Fox replied.

"I can try to find him," Bentley promised.

"It would be a big help," the inspector admitted, "we have no leads."

"I can round up the gang," Bentley said as he pulled up Murry's contact information.

"Keep me posted," Inspector Fox said as she stood up to leave.

"Take it," Bentley said as she was about to leave the room.

"Take what?" Inspector Fox asked.

"This," Bentley said as he extended his wheelchair to reach one of the pictures that was mounted on the wall.

The inspector's eyes went wide and got a little sparkly as she accepted the picture and turned quickly, heading out. Bentley typed out a message to Murray, the Guru, and the Panda King. Bentley almost typed a message to Penelope, but caught himself. He sighed and closed the files and waited. It was just a matter of time.

The Panda King was the first to respond. He said that he would be there by morning. Then Murray replied, saying that he would swing by Australia to pick the Guru up. Bentley was relieved to have company. He spent the day cleaning the place up, trying to make it presentable.


	2. Chapter 1: A Bite From the Past

Bentley.

"Nobody has seen him in three days," Bentley was explaining to his audience.

"That's not good," Murray said.

"No, it isn't," Bentley agreed.

"What are we to do about it?" the Panda King asked.

"I guess we will have to wait and see what evidence Inspector Fox can dig up," Bentley admitted.

They didn't seem satisfied with this, but the meeting adjourned regardless.

Several days passed, the hideout being lively and boosting Bentley's spirits.

The e-mail came late one night. Bentley was surfing when it popped up and nearly scared the shell off of him. It was a picture that brought chills to Bentley's bones. It was Dimitri's signature jacket sitting in a place that looked awfully familiar.

Bentley called for Murray, who walked in eating something. Bentley was too preoccupied to notice.

"Does this place look familiar?" Bentley asked.

"Yeah it does," Murray said.

"I can't place it though," Bentley muttered, frustrated.

"It's the hotel from the ACE'S competition a couple years ago," Murray said, nonchalantly.

Bentley could see it now, the familiar setup. But why had Dimitri been sent there? And by who?

"I'm sending this to Inspector Fox," Bentley said as he rattled off an e-mail.

The next morning, Bentley woke to find Murray shaking him.

"Wha—?" Bentley asked, sill half asleep.

"Someone needs to talk to you," Murray said before rushing out of the room.

Bentley got into his chair as quickly as possible and rolled out to see who needed to see him. Inspector Fox was sitting in the dining room reading the paper. She set it down and looked at Bentley as he rolled to the table.

"I got the message," Inspector Fox said.

"It's your choice of action," Bentley said.

"Good, because I have five tickets to Holland," Inspector Fox said, waving five tickets in the air.

"When do we leave? "Bentley asked.

"Tomorrow morning," the inspector replied. She left four on the table and made her way to the door.

"Looks like we're going to Holland," Bentley said to Murray, who was standing in the doorway.

"I'll start packing," Murray said as he disappeared.

"You don't think—," Inspector Fox trailed off.

"It's too early to make assumptions," Bentley said as he rolled out of the room to start packing.

"Meet at the airport at eight-thirty sharp," Inspector Fox instructed.

Bentley nodded and turned down the hallway. Holland was the last place he wanted to go, but if it could help out Dimitri, he would go there.

The next hour or two was spent packing up what he would need to be any good in the field. Bentley packed his portable lab into one corner of his workshop and then used his space saving device to shrink it all down to the size of a suitcase. He put this in an actual suitcase and then zipped it up, hoping that nothing would be damaged.

Even though he was wired, Bentley tried to relax for the evening. There was something about going back to the field without Sly that made him nervous. The last time he had done that was in Prague, and they weren't fond memories of Bentley's.

A tense evening led to a sleepless night. Bentley couldn't catch a wink. Though he knew that rest was important, he couldn't calm his mind down. Morning came early. Bentley, Murray, the Panda King, and the Guru all headed for the airport. Bentley decided that since they were traveling with an Interpol agent, it was best to leave the team van behind, much to Murray's dislike.

They arrived at the airport a little after eight. Since they were early, they decided to wait. Sure enough, Inspector Fox's car pulled up after a few moments. She got out wearing a brown overcoat that ran the length of her body. She also had a large, red hat and dark sunglasses to mask her appearance. Taking notice of the gang, Inspector Fox rushed over.

The five went through the necessary protocol to board and then awaited takeoff. It was a fairly smooth flight, but Bentley slept for most of it. His dreams troubled him. All he could recall were voices, familiar voices.

The bus they took from the airport dropped them at a small town. The place looked nearly abandoned, with a dark looming castle on the hill and several rusted air hangers. It was all too familiar for Bentley, who had to stop and take a breather before he continued.

Bentley hacked into the abandoned hotel's security system before entering the lobby. The place looked like it had been abandoned in a hurry. The ACES banner still hung above the doors.

"It's kinda eerie," Murray said, looking around.

"I hear you, big guy," Bentley replied as a shiver ran down his spine.

They headed to their old room. Upon entry, they found it to be about the same as it had been when they had left in a hurry all the years before. Bentley quickly set up shop.

"What now?" the Panda King asked.

"We need to scope the area, try to find the lizard," Inspector Fox said as she readied her shock pistol.

"It would make sense that each of us take one place and search there, that way we can do it fasted," Bentley suggested.

"Divide and concur," Murray supplied.

"Exactly," Bentley nodded.

"I see your point," Inspector Fox said.

"I'll take the hotel lobby," Bentley offered.

"I can search the east side of town while the Panda King and the Guru take the west," Inspector Fox said, pointing to places on a map.

"I can get the fields around the hangers," Murray volunteered.

"It's a plan then," Bentley wrapped up.

He gathered his things for the field and headed out the door. Previously, when he had been in the hotel commons room, Bentley had used a disguise. This wasn't necessary this time though.

The large fireplace sat dormant in the center of the room, the spit still sitting above the ashes. The doors to the lounges that sat on both sides sat ajar, and the bar where Dimitri had worked obviously had been broken into. Something set Bentley off, which put him on edge. He turned at the sound of a scurrying noise.

"Inspector Fox?" he called. There was no response.

When he turned back around, there was something on the ground.

"That's a calling card of Sly's," Bentley said in astonishment.

It hadn't been there before. One thing was for certain, Bentley wasn't alone. He sent out a signal to the rest of the gang to come to his position. At more scurrying, Bentley turned and raced towards the noise. What he found confused him; it was another calling card of Sly's.

"Who is playing games with me?" Bentley asked. Again, there was no response.

He scooted around some more, looking for signs of someone else being there, but found none. Something crashed in the distance, causing Bentley to look in that direction. He saw someone rubbing their head as they sat up.

"How clumsy of me, but I hoped you would come," a familiar voice said.

The voice sent shivers down Bentley's spine.

"I need time to explain, before you flip out," the voice continued.

Bentley turned around and found himself face to face with Penelope.

"I should—," Bentley started before he was shushed.

"You should let me talk," Penelope finished for him.

"Why should I?" Bentley snapped.

She reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a photograph of her and Bentley, handing it to him.

"I've held onto this," she started.

"I'm giving you thirty seconds," Bentley warned.

"Spice," Penelope admitted, "it was spice."

"I beg your pardon," Bentley said confused.

"You know, the stuff The Klaww Gang got rich off of," Penelope explained.

"You want me to believe that you were under the influence of a spice that made you do evil things," Bentley said, trying to corner her.

"You remember what that stuff did to Murray," Penelope countered.

She _did_ have a point, but Bentley refused to believe her.

"Who did it to you?" Bentley asked, his curiosity getting the better of him before he could help himself.

"It was—," her face screwed up into a painful twist as she hit the ground. Inspector Fox stood where Penelope had been.

"Is that who I think it is?" Murray asked as he came up beside Inspector Fox.

Bentley only nodded.

"I thought she was in jail," The Panda King looked puzzled.

"The little weasel escaped," Inspector Fox said with a slight edge to her voice.

"She was just about to tell me what was going on," Bentley protested.

"Well she can tell us when she wakes up," Inspector Fox cuffed Penelope, "after we tie her up."

"Is that really necessary?" Bentley asked.

"You're too trusting of her," The Panda King warned.

"Okay, fine, we can tie her up," Bentley sighed. He knew deep down that his friends were right. Penelope could be, and probably still was, very dangerous. If they were going to be safe, they needed to restrain her. But a little part of Bentley wished that he could trust her again.


	3. Chapter 2: Return to Holland

Bentley

Back in the old hotel room, Bentley waited for Penelope to wake up. He wasn't sure if he was excited or scared, but he was ready for something to happen. In the meantime, Murray and the Guru had tried to brighten the dilapidated room up a little bit. They had gotten the dust out of the drapes and knocked out some of the cobwebs.

"What should we do when she wakes?" Inspector Fox asked Bentley.

"I think we should give her a chance to explain herself," Bentley looked over at her slumped figure.

Inspector Fox looked over at The Panda King for his opinion.

"I agree with the turtle. While I don't trust her, she did have a part in rescuing my daughter," he smiled with a slight fondness in his eye, "She deserves a right to explain herself."

"She mentioned the illegal spice that The Contessa was using to hypnotize people," Bentley added.

"That stuff was crazy," Murray jumped in, "it made me all twitchy. And when that weird noise played, I went into a blind rage."

"That means someone had to have been feeding it to her," Inspector Fox furrowed her eyebrows in concentration.

"Is it out of the picture that she could have taken the spice herself?" The Panda King asked.

"Trust me," Murray snorted, "nobody in their right mind would take that stuff willingly."

"Then who?" Inspector Fox wondered aloud.

"She was just about to tell me that before you shocked her," Bentley sighed.

"That rat nearly killed Sly," Inspector Fox defended.

Bentley shook his head and rolled out of the room. He opened the door and reentered the large, cavernous commons room of the hotel. While he made his way down to the exit, he couldn't help but think back to when he and his gang had come to the Aces competition. The commons room had been abuzz with young, aspiring aviators. The now cracked and musty walls had been a lively shade of off white that magnified the cooking fire in the center of the hall. Chatter and laughter had bounced off of the walls in every direction. Waiters had bustled to and froe with steaming plates of food. Now it seemed like a mere shell of what it once was.

Bentley noticed something sitting on the ground. He moved closer and peered down to get a better look. It was the photograph that Penelope had pulled out earlier that day. It brought a pang of sadness in the pit of his stomach that he wasn't ready for. Part of Bentley wanted to leave the picture where it was, but he knew that he couldn't do that. Using one of the many joysticks on the arm of his wheel chair, Bentley moved a robotic arm that retracted into his chair and picked the photo up off the ground.

Upon closer inspection, the picture was a little grimy. There were some rips in the edges, giving it a well-worn look. The picture showed Bentley working on some invention while Penelope reclined on the edge of his chair. They looked happy, which only twisted the knife. Knowing that she had kept this the entire time she was gone gave Bentley a dangerous level of hope.

He stashed the photo and made his way past the scaled down windmill that stood by the door. He was out the door in a flash and in the fresh Dutch air. There was a familiar chill to the air, but it still sent shivers down Bentley's spine. Even though Bentley had installed a flashlight to his chair, he didn't need it because the moon cast enough of a glow to see by. It bathed the town in silvery light, giving everything a magical sheen.

After strolling aimlessly through the streets for a couple minutes, Bentley found himself sitting outside the old cooper hanger. Their flag still hung from the flag pole. They must have left in such a rush that they forgot it. The damage sustained to the hanger from when Mugshot had attacked still riddled the sides of the hanger. Bentley remembered tag-teaming with Penelope to defend the hanger.

As he drifted further into though, he started to long for those days before he had begun the relationship. He had been obsessed with her. Since he hadn't gone to high school, it was the closest thing Bentley had to a crush. He had been totally unprepared for Penelope when he first met her.

The castle in the distance caught Bentley's eye again. He decided to make his way there before he headed back. It was a much shorter stroll than he had remembered, and he got there pretty quickly. The hardest part was avoiding the giant wolf that liked to lurk in the grounds that led to the castle. Bentley wished there was a way to get inside, but he didn't feel like forcing his way into the complex. And besides, Murray was better at that stuff.

Just as Bentley was thinking about heading back to the hideout, his com link started to buzz. He glanced down at who it was and saw Murray's name.

"Hello?" he said into the mic.

"You need to get back here, quick," Murray said quickly.

"Why, what's going on?" Bentley asked.

"She woke up and she refuses to talk to anyone except you," Murray responded.

"I'll be there shortly," Bentley ended the call and used his jet boosters to get back to the hideout as fast as possible.

He jumped from rooftop to rooftop, making sure to dodge the chimneys. After a few years of practice, he had become pretty good at using the jet boosters. He recalled how Murray had felt about him being in the chair, but it was the best thing that could have ever happened to him. He was one with his technology.

Before long, he was back on the balcony that led into the room. When he got inside, he saw that she was awake. She had been tied to a chair with her hands and feet cuffed. There was no way she was going anywhere any time soon.

"She refuses to talk to anyone except you," Inspector Fox said.

Bentley rolled over and parked his chair in front of where she sat. They were almost knee to knee. She looked at him, straight into his eyes. Only he would have been able to notice it, but all of the anger seemed to leave her as she focused on him.

"So you wanted to talk," Bentley asked, trying to keep his voice more level.

"Is there somewhere more private?" she asked.

Bentley looked around at the others. Inspector Fox didn't seem happy about it, but she nodded.

"Can I bring one person with us?" Bentley asked.

Penelope thought it over for a moment before nodding.

"I trust The Panda King," she said.

Bentley and The Panda King exchanged a glance.

"I hate to do it guys," Bentley started.

"It's okay, we understand," Murray said as he, the Guru, and Inspector Fox got up and walked out of the room.

The Panda king pulled up a stool and sat down next to Bentley. They waited for her to say something. She cleared her throat before she started talking.

"As I told you earlier," she started, "I was under the influence of those spices from India. The one that brings out the worst in people."

"And why should I believe you?" Bentley asked.

"I never wanted to hurt you or the gang," she insisted.

"But you tried to kill Sly," Bentley reminded her, "you nearly dropped a gate on him."

"And I nearly killed him with that giant robot I built, I'm aware. But that wasn't me. Or, it was, but I wasn't able to use my judgment. Everything felt cloudy," she kept going, "especially when he would play that sound. It made everything worse."

Bentley suddenly got interested. That was exactly how Murray had described it. Maybe she wasn't lying.

"Who is this person you are talking about?" Bentley asked, "is it Paradox?"

"No," she shook her head, "he wasn't that smart."

"Then who was it?" Bentley asked.

"He never used his name," she admitted.

"Did you see what he looked like?" The Panda King asked.

"Only once," she replied, "he was a bird. I'm not sure what type. But he was small."

Something nagged at Bentley, but he couldn't place it.

"Did he give a name?" Bentley asked.

"He only referred to himself as Omega," she replied.

The Panda King nodded to Bentley.

"Can we talk in private for a moment?" he asked.

Bentley nodded and rolled off into the adjoining bathroom.

"I believe that she is truthful," The Panda King said, "but to be sure, I think we should have the Guru bridge our minds so that we can be certain."

"Who would go inside?" Bentley asked.

"You, Murray, and I would be best suited," The Panda King replied, "Murray has experience with the spice, and the others trust my judgment."

"And you think it would be a good idea for me to delve into her subconscious?" Bentley asked.

"She would only open up to you," The Panda King reminded him.

He had a point. The best place to learn more was inside of Penelope's memory.

"She's not gonna like us poking around up there," Bentley commented.

"She doesn't have a choice," The Panda King shifted his weight, "if she wants to be trusted, she must trust us first."

It was settled then.

"I'll go talk to Murray," The Panda King said.

That left Bentley with the hard job of explaining it to Penelope.

He rolled back into the room where she was sitting. She looked up at him as he came to a stop.

"You don't believe me," her shoulders slumped.

"We want to believe you," Bentley said, then added in a quieter tone, "I want to believe you."

"How else can I prove it to you?" she asked, "I'm sure that the spice is out of my system by now. I spent three months in jail where Omega couldn't get to me."

"We have a way," Bentley started, "the Guru is going to bridge our minds like he did for Sly when he broke The Panda King out of his meditation. It's the only way to be certain."

She processed this for a moment.

"So you are going to be able to see into my memory," she asked.

"I think that's how it works," Bentley admitted. He didn't have too much experience with this sort of stuff.

"If that's what it takes," she sighed, "it won't hurt will it?"

Bentley shook his head.

"It's a weird question to ask," she furrowed her brow, "but exactly who will be going inside my head?"

"I'll be going, plus Murray and The Panda King," Bentley replied.

She nodded and sat back in the chair as The Panda King entered, followed by Murray and the Guru. The Guru said something to Murray in his native language.

"He's ready to begin," Murray translated.

All eyes fell on Penelope.

"Let's get it over with," she closed her eyes.


	4. Chapter 3: Memories

Bentley

The four sat on the ground arranged in a lose circle. Penelope sat with her back to the wall. Bentley sat across from her with The Panda King to his left and Murray to his right. The Guru stood behind Bentley. He said something in his native language and Murray nodded.

"He wants us to join hands," Murray translated.

"Um, can't quite do that," Penelope said sheepishly.

"Carmelita, if you don't mind," Bentley nodded to Penelope's shackled hands.

Inspector Fox sighed as she got up off of the couch and ambled over to where Penelope was sitting. There was a metallic click and the cuffs snapped open. Penelope massaged her wrists where the cuffs had been.

"Don't get any ideas," Inspector Fox warned.

Penelope nodded before joining hands with The Panda King and Murray. Bentley was helped out if his wheel chair by Inspector Fox and joined his friends on the floor before he joined hands with them. The Guru said something else in his language.

"He says that if we break our hands, we will lose the connection," Murray translated.

"What happens if we break the connection?" Bentley asked.

The Guru thought for a moment before replying, and based off of the reaction that Murray gave, there was no need for a translation.

"Let's get started," The Panda King said.

The Guru nodded and put his hand on Bentley's forehead. He began to feel light headed, his vision wavering. It felt like he was blacking out, but not quite. He was still aware of his thoughts.

When Bentley regained his senses, he was standing in his lab. That was the first surprise. He was standing on his two feet. His legs miraculously fixed. He turned and noticed that The Panda King and Murray were both staring at him.

"Your subconscious must still be whole," The Panda King mused in amazement.

"Is this your lab?" Murray asked as he looked around.

Bentley nodded.

They walked around for a bit, trying to figure out why Penelope's mind was here. Then it all happened. The doorbell rang. Penelope walked out of one of the adjoining rooms wearing house clothes and answered the door. A dog handed over a package and had Penelope sight for it. After closing the door, Penelope returned to the room she was in.

Bentley cast a sideways glance at Murray and The Panda King before following her into the room. Their bed was sitting in the middle, with a desk to the side and some shelves. It was a modest setup, but it was cozy. Penelope was sitting at the desk as she opened the box with a utility knife.

"Finally," she said gleefully, "that vacuum chamber that Bentley needed."

She lifted the glass container out and a cloud of dust flew up in her face. She started coughing as she wiped at her eyes and nose. After regaining her composure and dusting the desk off, she stood up. There was a wild gleam in her eye. She stumbled over to the bed, but didn't quite make it. She collapsed to her knees by the bedside and sat there for a moment.

"Something's not right," she coughed.

Bentley looked over at Murray and The Panda King in shock. She was telling the truth.

Just as she started to get up, a noise filled the air. It made Murry jump and sent shivers down Bentley's spine. It was a mechanical whirring sound that drilled its way into his skull. It was the same noise that The Contessa used to activate the spice in Murray. Penelope stood erect, not moving. Then, like she was in a trance, she packed a small bag and walked out of the door. As Bentley and the others looked out the window, she got into a white van and it sped off.

Before Bentley could say a word, the scene shifted. They were in some different lab. A voice droned on about machines. Penelope wore a blue jumpsuit as she worked feverishly on something that looked an awful lot like blueprints for a time machine. The ones she sold to Paradox. Every time she would stop to wipe the sweat from her brow, the whirring would start again and she would start working, almost like it was against her will.

The scene shifted again to Penelope working on a giant metal brain. It had a bunch of wires sticking out of it and seemed to be glowing. The scene shifted to her in an office with the skunk himself. She looked terrible, half sleep deprived, half crazy. He was looking over the prints. Then he shook her hand.

The memories became more frequent and short. The edges of the view becoming more and more fuzzy and cloudy. Something was definitely wrong. This was not normal.

"This is what it was like for me," Murray said as he looked around.

Noises split the silence like atomic blasts. Even a door shutting was enough to cause Bentley's ears to ring. When the image sharpened, it was so instantaneous that Bentley wasn't expecting it. Penelope was staring into the digital shape of a bird. It spoke with an accent that sounded British, just could have been something else.

"You have failed us," it said plainly.

"I'm done Omega," she cried out, "I did the one thing I swore I would never do."

"Pity," the shape said emotionlessly.

Behind Bentley, the door slammed open and police came bustling in with their weapons drawn. Penelope put her hands up without any kind of a fight. She was pushed to the ground and cuffed in seconds, still with no fight or even verbal protest.

They sat darkness for a while, waiting to see what her mind would show them next. Murray looked visibly shaken, and even The Panda King seemed on edge.

"She wasn't lying about the spice," Bentley said in disbelief.

"It appears not," The Panda King gave him a smile.

"The only question I have," Murray interjected, "how did she break out of jail?"

Bentley hadn't considered this. How had she gotten out? It was such a blatantly obvious question. He couldn't believe he had overlooked it.

"We must be patient," The Panda King said, "the mind is such a fragile thing. Our answer will be revealed when her mind wishes to."

Their wait wasn't long, for just seconds after The Panda King spoke, a new image filled their view. This one was so vivid that they could feel the cool cement under their feet.

"It must be sharper because the spice is no longer in her system," Bentley guessed.

Penelope was sitting on her bunk and resting against the wall. Taped next to her pillow was the picture that she had given to Bentley earlier that day. The scene shifted to later in the evening. The barred window was dark and Penelope was now laying down instead of reclining.

At the small metal desk, Penelope had several papers strewn about. There were newspaper clippings, sketches, and scribbled out papers. The thing that caught Bentley's eye was the title of one of the pages. Scrawled across the top were the words "Where is Sly Cooper?". Suddenly it made sense. The newspaper clippings were all about Sly. There was a post from the paper in Paris that Bentley read. It talked about how he had vanished from the police radar completely.

Looking over more of the documents, he noticed magazines clippings similar to the ones that he had been looking through. It appeared that she was on a similar trail that he was on. She had different words scratched out. Ancient America, Ancient Japan, Medieval Europe, all had lines through them. Along the side of it, there was a list of names and dates. Penelope had memorized the dates and names of Sly's ancestors. She had been with him when he had studied the Thievius Raccoonus.

"Hey," Bentley called out to Murray and The Panda King, "Penelope was trying to find Sly."

They walked over to the desk and looked for themselves.

"Look at this," Murray pointed to two words at the bottom of the page with all the countries and times.

Written in very fine print were two words that changed everything: Found Sly.

Bentley almost called to the sleeping Penelope, but then he remembered that she couldn't hear them. Just as Bentley was about to make a comment, something happened. Everything went dark, but it wasn't like when they were shifting from memory to memory. The lights had turned out. Penelope sat up groggily and looked around. Three men appeared outside her cell with a set of hack saws and began to hack at her bars.

Penelope looked at them in shock before she leapt off of her bunk and tried to clobber one of the men over the head with a book. He sidestepped the blow and she fell over, since she didn't calculate her own weight.

"Are you here to kill me?" she asked through gritted teeth, "are you with Omega?"

Instead of answering, the men stepped aside after creating a hole in the bars. A fourth figure, noticeably larger than the previous three, stepped into her cell. He was a large walrus with tattoos going down his arms. One of his tusks had been broken, no doubt in a fight.

"I'm no Omega, or whatever you called him. But I am here to break you out of jail," he said in a husky voice.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Penelope's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, my apologies for not introducing myself. Name's Jim McSweeney, I ran with Sly's pops," he said as he looked around the cell.

"I think I remember Sly mentioning you," Penelope said, "but he said you wanted to stay in jail."

"I did. But now that he's missing, I need to find him. I promised 'ole Connor that I would protect Sly if anything happened," McSweeney said with a sad look in his deep black eyes.

"I think I know where he is," Penelope started but was shushed by McSweeney.

"We need to make this look like you escaped on your own. They can't suspect that this was an outside job," McSweeney snapped his fingers. One of the men who had broken her out stepped forward with a can of spray paint and painted a symbol on the wall above her cot. [

"Why is this necessary?" Penelope asked.

"We need to let the gang know you're out without directly contacting them. It's too dangerous right now," McSweeney explained.

"It's probably for the best that I don't contact the gang right now," Penelope started, but was again cut off.

"Grab your papers," McSweeney said, ignoring what she had been saying, "and pack your bags. You're heading to Holland. It's the safest place for us right now. That entire town you had built for your plane contest is completely deserted and unpatrolled. It's the last place anyone would look."

Penelope nodded, seeing as she had no other choice.

"Once you're there, I can explain more. But we need to get into contact with Bentley and Murray. Things are bad. Really bad," McSweeney continued.

Penelope stopped and looked him in the eye as best as she could.

"Bentley won't want to hear anything from me," she insisted, "He doesn't know about the spice. And I don't think I can get him to listen to me long enough to explain."

"I haven't met Bentley," McSweeney sighed, "but I think he will listen once the time is right."

Penelope finished stuffing her few belongings into her pillowcase, including the picture, and hopped out of the hole that had been cut in the bars. She cast a glance back at the room with a disgusted expression before turning back and walking into the darkness after McSweeney and his three henchmen.

After they left, Bentley was in too much shock to say anything. So was The Panda King and Murray. They sat there in stunned silence for a few moments trying to process what they had just seen.

"We need to get back to the others and tell them what we have seen," The Panda King said as he glanced at Murray and Bentley.

"Speaking of that," Bentley glanced at Murray, "how do we get out of here?"

Murray lit up.

"It's easy," he smiled, "just imagine us waking up. Think about it really hard."

Bentley tried to do this, and soon enough, he was sitting back on the floor of the dingy hotel room with a splitting headache.

"What all did you see?" Penelope asked quickly.

Bentley was at a loss for words.

"Was that it?" Inspector Fox asked, "that was only a minute or so."

"A minute?" Bentley asked, the impossibility of it catching him of guard.

The Guru said something and Murray listed closely.

"He says that what we saw was just in our heads. Very little time passed in our world," Murry translated.

But the Guru wasn't done. He continued to talk, catching Murray by surprise.

"He says that everything you saw in there was true and that it was of a pure heart," Murray continued, casting a look at Penelope.

The Guru nodded and pointed his staff at Penelope, who looked in just as much shock as the rest of them.

"Pure," the Guru said in English. It was the first time Bentley could remember hearing him say something in another language.

Everyone was now looking at the Guru and Penelope. There were so many things to discuss, but there was one issue that was most important. The other stuff would have to wait.

"So, um, Penelope," Bentley stammered, "how do we find Sly?"

The room went silent and still. Everyone waited on her response. Bentley cast a glance in Inspector Fox's direction. A momentary glimmer of hope spread across her face.

"We need to get to McSweeney, then we can make a plan from there," Penelope replied.

"So you know where Sly is?" Inspector Fox asked in a small voice.

Penelope nodded. Inspector Fox suddenly burst forward to where Penelope was sitting on the floor. Bentley almost protested, but didn't have the time. But instead of strangling her, which is what Bentley had half expected, Carmelita engulfed the mouse in a hug so tight that Penelope looked like her eyes would pop out of her skull.

"We need to get to Mesa City," Penelope gasped.

"Is that where Sly is?" Inspector Fox asked as she released Penelope.

Penelope shook her head as she walked over to where Bentley was trying to get back up into his wheel chair. Without a word, she helped him up into the chair just as she had so many times before. It sent a surge of electricity through Bentley that he hadn't felt in almost a year. She looked like she wanted to say something, but decided against it.

"Well, we are all wanting to know," Murray echoed Inspector Fox, "Where's Sly?"

"Oh, sorry," Penelope tried to hide her embarrassment, "He's in Ancient Egypt, around the time of Slytunkhamen I."


	5. Chapter 4: Fallout

Bentley

Bentley was packing his bags up when Penelope poked her head into the room that he was sharing with Murray and The Panda King. They had decided to untie her and let her walk around, but they all kept a close eye on her. Inspector Fox hadn't been fond of the idea at first, but she was overruled. After what Bentley had seen and what the Guru had said, Penelope was in the clear. At least she was for the moment.

Bentley pretended that he didn't see her as he was putting one of his computers in a case. Penelope lingered in the doorway and crossed her arms. A placid look was on her face.

"You don't have to pretend that I don't exist," she said, causing Bentley to jump.

"I'm not pretending that," he spun his chair around to face her.

"Oh come on," she rolled her eyes, "you haven't said one word to me. Even Carmelita has said more to me."

Bentley couldn't deny that he had been antisocial towards her. He had spent most of the time since she had shown up staying away from everyone.

"What did you see when you went in my mind?" she asked as she sat softly on the bed across from him.

"I saw you get that package," Bentley replied, "I saw you writing the plans for Omega and I saw you in jail."

She nodded, not seeming surprised.

"I saw you reject Omega," Bentley finished.

"That was shortly after our show down in England," she nodded, "I'd built a simple time machine to get me back to the present. He found me not too soon after."

"So what happened to Dimitri?" Bentley asked.

"I'm not entirely sure," she admitted, "McSweeney wanted me to use the jacket to lure you here. He thought that it would be easier than me trying to get into contact with you directly."

There was a pause of silence. Bentley's face fell again.

"There's nothing else I can do to make you trust me," Penelope looked at him.

"Penelope," Bentley locked eyes with her, "I do trust you. I'm just not ready yet."

She nodded, her eyes full of regret, then did something he didn't expect. She walked over to him and kissed him on the cheek. Then without a word, she turned around and walked out of the room. This left Bentley's insides completely scrambled.

The next hour or so was a blur of packing. They used their rental car to get themselves back to the airport and booked their tickets to the mainland USA. Bentley was looking forward to finally meeting Jim McSweeney. From what Sly had said about him, he was practically Sly's uncle.

About two hours later, Bentley and the rest of the gang were waiting at the gate for their plane. People in the airport cast them odd glances, but nobody seemed to linger on them. Bentley kept a wary eye on security. Even though they were in disguise, it made Bentley nervous. This was their first big lead on Sly, and they couldn't afford to get caught here. If that happened, Sly may never get back.

Their flight was called, and they made their way to the gate, being careful to avoid attention. Bentley's wheelchair got stuck as he tried to enter the plane, but before he could get himself unstuck, he was freed. Bentley turned to thank whoever had helped him, but he saw Penelope behind him, so he clammed up.

The flight attendant helped Bentley get into his seat, then secured his wheelchair behind him in the cabin storage. He felt safe knowing that his chair was right next to him if something were to happen.

The plane took off without a hitch, heading straight for Salt Lake City National Airport. Bentley stared out the window at the passing clouds. His mind wandered, thoughts about Sly floating about in his consciousness. He thought back to Prague, when he had rescued Sly and Murray. It was a memory that he had tried to forget. But he remembered the feeling of futility all to well. Having a plan set in place made him feel better. He hoped that when they got to Mesa City, they would be able to formulate a plan.

Snapping out of his thoughts, Bentley looked around the inside of the cabin. Murray, who occupied the seat next to him, was shifting through a magazine. Inspector Fox, who was in the row ahead of Bentley and Murray, was keeping a close eye on Penelope, who had the seat by the window. The Panda King and the Guru were sitting in the row of seats next to Bentley and Murray. The Guru seemed to be deep in meditation. Bentley guessed that flying freaked him out, since he was still fairly new to technology.

They were in for a long flight, and would need to hit the ground running when they landed, so Bentley closed his eyes. He wanted to grab a few hours of sleep, because he didn't know when he would get the chance next.

When sleep finally took Bentley, he had a restful sleep. Something felt off. It was like he was missing something. That was a feeling that he hated more than anything. He hated not knowing. But there was definitely something wrong.

When he woke, he felt like he hadn't slept at all. His nerves were shot, and he felt on edge. His eyes drifted to where Penelope should have been. And to his surprise, she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

"We are making our approach," the pilot said over the P/A system, "We should touch down in ten minutes."

Bentley was itching for something to happen. He needed to get moving. And above all else, he wanted to see what Jim McSweeney knew.


	6. Chapter 5: Answers

Bentley

The sand was one of the only similarities between the Mesa City that Bentley remembered and the one he saw now. There were people everywhere, making the city feel alive. Gone were the days of it being a ghost town.

Something else that hadn't changed, though, was the crime. There seemed to be an officer on every street corner. But that didn't bother Bentley. He was used to being around police. It did seem to make Penelope uncomfortable. She looked on edge, her eyes darting from face to face. Bentley tried to ignore it, but he felt bad for her. He had been the same way when he had been busted out of the hospital after he was injured. He remembered the feeling of paranoia.

"Where are we going again?" Murray asked.

"McSweeney wants to meet at Mugshot's old casino. It's been abandoned since he left. McSweeney has been laying low there since he escaped," Penelope explained.

"I hope it's close," Murray complained, "I wish we could have taken the van."

"Not here," Bentley reminded him, "we can't have the van around here. After the Mugshot incident, we are all wanted here."

Murray nodded, but they fell silent as they passed a security officer. His eyes lingered on Penelope for a second longer than Bentley would have expected.

"We should get a move on," Bentley suggested after they got out of earshot, "We're drawing attention to ourselves."

They made haste to the older part of the city, the part where Mugshot had been. There were still people there, but the security presence was not nearly as heavy. It looked a lot more rundown. The people were eyeing Bentley and his friends, so he tried to avoid eye contact and move as fast as possible.

They almost made it to their destination without conflict, but as they were in the courtyard that led into the casino lobby, a dog stepped out of the shadows. He was flanked by two others.

"Hey, pink fella," he called.

Murray looked over, sizing the three up.

"Didn't you hear me?" the dog continued, "What are you? Deaf?"

"I heard you fine," Murray gritted his teeth, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"I think I recognize you," the dog turned to his companions, "As I recall, you beat us in a race back when we worked for our old boss."

Bentley locked eyes with Murray, they were both thinking the same thing. This was bad.

"You had a hand in getting his put away," the dog grinned wickedly, "And we don't much appreciate it."

Bentley tried to calculate their best option. But even though Bentley and his friends outnumbered this group, there was no telling how many friends they had that were hiding. It was most likely a losing battle, and Bentley knew it.

"Look, we don't want any trouble," Penelope spoke up.

The dog turned his focus onto her, a stupid grin crossing his face.

"The pretty one has something to say," he looked her up and down.

Something in Bentley started to boil.

"Well, I think our boss would like to see you," he continued, "Come with us, and nobody gets hurt."

"Who's your boss?" Murray asked.

"That's not info you need to know, pinky," the dog snapped.

"I'm not going anywhere," Murray put his hands up, his fists clenched, he rushed one of the other dogs and clobbered him over the head. The second dog grabbed Penelope, causing Bentley to jump to action. He raced to her defense, the clubs he put in his wheelchair spinning. He caught the dog by surprise, casting him back. But the fight was short lived.

"Hey there," the main dog turned and pulled a pistol from his pocket, "Don't make this difficult. I don't want to use this. The boss would be disappointed if I did."

Bentley knew that the fight was over. They followed the three dogs after they got back on their feet. The one that Bentley clobbered cast him a dirty glance. As they went, more dogs joined them. Butch, the dog that had pulled the pistol, led them around the back of the casino and through a side door. The lobby was dark, but still recognizable to Bentley. It was Mugshot's casino, just a lot more rundown.

They all packed into the elevator that led them up to Mugshot's old penthouse. Bentley was starting to guess who the boss was, but he kept that to himself. He would have to wait and see. He could tell that Penelope was coming to the same conclusion, but the elevator came to a stop. Butch nudged them out and into the large room. A large chair that Mugshot had sat in was behind a large desk. The chair was turned, so the occupant was not in view. Instead, the chair was facing the large windows that overlooked the city. From this height, the whole place was in view. The headlights of distant cars sparkled in the early evening.

"Boss, I found these folk lurking around," Butch announced, "they ruffed up Bruce and Toby."

The chair turned, revealing the large walrus that Bentley had seen in Penelope's memory. He was just as Bentley remembered him. He wore a sweater that gave him almost a calm persona. But the fire in his eyes suggested otherwise.

"Honestly, they must have gone easy on you," McSweeney laughed, "if they were trying, they would have put all three of you on the ground."

Butch looked obviously confused. He turned to face Bentley and his friends.

"This is the group I've been waiting on," McSweeney stood up and lumbered around the desk. He was comparable in size to Murray, but stood a little taller, "Sorry for the rude greeting. Just don't want anyone who shouldn't be here poking around."

Bentley nodded, casting a glance at Penelope. He wanted something to happen. But he didn't know what to expect.

"So I think I owe you an explanation," McSweeney motioned them to a sitting area not too far off.

They walked over and sat down on the couches, Bentley rolled over and stopped by Murray. They waited as McSweeney sat down on the large arm chair.

"As soon as I found out that Sly was missing, it tore me up," McSweeney started talking, "I lost Connor, I couldn't imagine losing Sly too. But one night, something hit me. I remembered an artifact that we took from a museum in Cairo. Connor had taken interest in his lineage, so he started with Slytunkhamen. There were stone tablets that showed Slytunkhamen with another raccoon. It told the story of a foreigner inspiring his cane."

Bentley gasped. It made sense. The Coopers before Slytunkhamen had used canes, just not like the one that Sly carried. Slytunkhamen was the first.

"That made me start thinking," McSweeney continued, "that part never made sense to Connor. He searched for this person, but found no other references to him anywhere. It drove Connor to the edges of the world trying to find the answers."

"So you think that this outsider is Sly?" Bentley asked.

"It's the best guess I have," McSweeney admitted, "I'd like to think it's him."

"Well, how do we get there?" Bentley asked, "Do you have an artifact from that time period?"

"Actually," Penelope cleared her throat, "we don't need one. I've figured out how to travel without needing an artifact."

"All we need is the date," McSweeney added, "which we have."

Bentley's spirits lifted.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" he asked, "Let's hop on the soonest flight to Paris and get the van fixed up for time traveling."

"There's one more thing I need to explain before we do that," McSweeney lifted his hand. The other fell silent.

"When we get Sly, we need to return here. This is just now getting started. Things here are not looking good. I assume that you know about Dimitri's disappearance, since we used his jacket to lure you to Holland."

Everyone nodded.

"Well, he's not the only one," McSweeney continued, "several of your old adversaries are disappearing, just like Dimitri. I've been trying to link the disappearances to something definite, but I've hit mostly dead ends."

"Mostly?" Carmelita asked.

"I do have one lead," McSweeney admitted, a darkness passing across his face, "I looked through the inventory found in the wreckage of Arpeggio's blimp. All the parts were accounted for, except the brain. That wasn't on the blimp."

"So you're saying that the Clockwerk Brain didn't get destroyed?" Bentley asked.

"No, I don't think it did," McSweeney said, "And Penelope worked on it while under Omega's influence."

She nodded.

"Who is this omega creep?" Murray asked.

"I'm not a hundred percent sure," McSweeney admitted, "but I think it's Arpeggio himself."

Bentley felt his stomach drop.

"There was something in that brain," Penelope said as she sat on the couch, "It would talk to him. It was almost as if he was being manipulated by it."

"Did Clockwerk not perish when he was destroyed in Paris?" The Panda King asked.

"His body was," Penelope explained, "but if his mind wasn't there, it should still be intact."

"So Clockwerk is still alive?" Bentley asked, "Even if it's just his consciousness, he's not dead?"

"Yes," McSweeney replied, "and he wants revenge."


End file.
